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Colleen Layton-Robbins |
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In the fall of 1988, Colleen’s life took an unexpected turn when Scott Robbins began volunteering with Frisky's. Scott Robbins had been a regular winning race car driver at Dorsey Speedway in Elkridge, Maryland. At first, Colleen was not impressed saying, “What does any of his life have to do with animals in need?" Surprisingly, however, they hit it off. Many people believe it was Scott’s good cooking and many years of dedication of being more than just a volunteer that eventually won Colleen’s heart. However, it was only when Colleen’s son, Rick, slipped and fell, hitting his head and leaving him in a coma, that Colleen realized that Scott was so much more than a friend and volunteer. Scott took over the management and complete care of the farm so that Colleen could care for her ailing son. Thankfully, Rick made a full recovery and Colleen married Scott in the Fall of 1991. Today, Scott calls himself the “grounds maintenance man,” but Frisky's volunteers and directors know him as so much more. Colleen says, “He really completes my life, thoughts and dreams. In fact, he has made all my dreams come true.” After their marriage in 1991, Colleen and Scott decided to continue their services to animals by moving to a new location. They looked long and hard for the perfect property for their small refuge and were determined to stay in Howard County, close to all who knew them, off main roads, out of flood areas, close to State Parks, and still easy to find. Finally, the sanctuary was found in what used to be Breezewood Farms. Its long driveway was lined with 80 foot tall bull pine trees, and there was a solid house with good wells. It was here that Colleen and Scott built up what Frisky’s Wildlife and Primate Sanctuary is today. It takes a tremendous amount of work to run Frisky’s Wildlife and Primate Sanctuary. Three very important items must be taken into account every day in order to keep all of the animals at Frisky’s happy, health and thriving. These items include 1) visual, nutritional and activity enrichments for the animals to keep them happy, 2) health matters and delivery of needed medication to keep them healthy and 3) safety and security to keep the entire organization thriving. Every volunteer and Director of Frisky’s is required to fulfill these obligations up to the highest of standards. In this way, Frisky’s Wildlife and Primate Sanctuary is able to rescue over 1,500 wild animals every year and countless domestic and exotic ex-pets. Colleen’s desire has always been that Frisky’s Wildlife and Primate Sanctuary and its residents live on as her legacy for the future — leaving each animal better off than it was found.
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© 2013 All Images and Text are
Copyrighted by FRISKY'S Wildlife and Primate Sanctuary. |
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Colleen
Layton-Robbins is a certified master rehabilitator , USDA-APHIS exhibitor
and founder of Frisky’s Wildlife and Primate Sanctuary which she has run for
the past 35 years. Although Colleen did not go to college, she obtained
rehabilitation training and real world experiences that allowed her to
become an extremely valuable asset to the environmental community. As a
child, Colleen was fascinated by wildlife survival, and she states
“compassion is what drove her on.” She was constantly reading books,
watching documentaries, and attending lectures and wildlife rehabilitation
workshop classes. Colleen states, “I will study anything that relates to my
life from good books to good websites and news articles to improve the care
I give to the animals I deal with.”